Safe and Sound
by TabooElf
Summary: Kaeda needed someone to understand her. Naruto needed someone to care. When Naruto screws up a new jutsu, he summons Kaeda. Though they face hardships, Naruto finds the family he's always wanted, while Kaeda finds the one she'd die to protect. Oc/?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one ^w^ **

**Summary: Kaeda needed someone to understand her. Naruto needed someone to care about him. Kaeda Brewer grew up in "our" world, having no clue who her birth parents were or who she really was. She had no clue why she was stronger, faster, more agile and smarter than everyone around her. When Naruto accidently screws up the Bunshin Jutsu, he ends up summoning Kaeda on top of him - quite litteraly. Though they don't speak the same language, Naruto finds the mother he's always wanted, while Kaeda founds the one thing she'd give anything to protect.**

**Now, off we go 8D**

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><p>I had always been different from everyone else. Growing up in a small rural area in Kentucky, I knew almost everyone, and everyone knew me. I was Kaeda Brewer, daughter of the Super Intendant, the girl who got athletic scholarships to nearly every school in the US but still decided to go to Northern Kentucky University. The mocha-skinned, petite, adopted spitfire brunette that everyone either loved or hated.<p>

Yet still, that wasn't what set me apart. I was found, bleeding on the banks of the Ohio River by my adoptive parents, Mica and Daniel Brewer. Dad was the Super Intendant – Mom was an Art Collector, our house was filled with originals. When they found me, I looked barely a month old, with ten whip-like cuts down my back – though, remarkably, it quickly healed into ten separate black lines. They're irremovable – trust me, it confuses me too.

Besides that, it was impossible for me to get sick. I had never, once in my life, thrown up, gotten a cold or the flu, or even had a fever. It was like I had a ridiculously high immunity to all illnesses. That wasn't even the weirdest thing – I was naturally faster, stronger, and more agile than any of the people around me. I had keener senses and once, fell from a third story window and landed on my feet without breaking a thing.

The weird things I could do paled in comparison to others. For example – animals loved me. Normal ones like cats and dogs, of course, but foxes, horses, hell even raccoons liked me. It made no sense – and was occasionally irksome.

Ever came home to find a fox in your closet? No? Well, it's a little shocking. I probably would've thrown it out the window if not for the fact that was a little kit with the most gorgeous caramel eyes I have ever seen. I'm still keeping her – I named her Hotaru after my favorite Sailor Moon character – It means firefly.

I get off topic too much. Anyway, to restate – I've always been different. I never thought too much of it, it never seemed important.

Of course, I probably should have now that I look back.

Even if I didn't look too much into my abilities, there was something I was borderline obsessed with – my heritage. I wanted to know who I was, where I came from, who my parents were. There was no trace of anyone from where they found me. No medical records, birth reports – nothing. It was as if I just appeared out of thin air.

Right.

My real story begins after a day at college. I lived in a small cottage off campus – I wasn't one to room with strangers. I was a territorial person and very, very possessive when it came to people I claimed to be mine. No one else lived in my little abode except for Hotaru, my baby. She was about sixth months old and getting rather big.

"Tadaima!" I called, shrugging off my light red hoodie and hanging it over the back of a kitchen chair. There was the sound of padding feet, and I looked down to see my little fox put her dark brown paws on my knee. I scooped her up, nuzzled my nose against her as I went to get a bottle of tea from the fridge. That was when I felt it.

A tingling starting up at my feet, giving me the uncomfortable feeling that they had fallen asleep. Still, I ignored it, taking a drink and scratching Hotaru-chan absently behind the ear.

The tingling made its way up to my chest. I fidgeted, sitting down in my plush chair, my baby beside me, a book in my hands.

The tingling reached my head and everything went black.

Naruto hadn't meant to do it. Honestly! After another day at the academy he had went down to Ichiraku's for dinner, when the people their sent nasty looks at him and left like usual. He pretended their cruel accusations bounced off him, though each one felt like he was taking a kunai to a heart.

The blonde had gotten rather good at pretending to always be happy, fixing his foxy grin on his face to cover the loneliness. He had joked around with Ayame-nee a bit, before paying and deciding to go to the park for a little while before going back to his drafty apartment.

He went and sat on his swing, going back and forth and ignoring the hateful looks the villagers sent him. His cerulean eyes made their way around the green field before resting on a young woman walking around, holding hands with a boy that was obviously her son. A pang went through his heart.

_I wish I had that…_ he thought wistfully, sighing and looking away once more. The mother and son were soon out of sight, but hours later as he took a freezing shower in the low-class apartment, the image was still trained in his mind.

When he began practicing the newest technique they had learned, the Bunshin, it still laid on his mind. Maybe that's how it happened, because as he thought _I wish I had someone to care about me like that_, he did the Rat handsign instead of the Boar. There was a poof of smoke and all he saw was a pair of dark green eyes before he was knocked against the wall, falling unconscious.

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><p><strong>Remember, review please :3<strong>

**~Adra**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two ^w^**

**Replies to Reviews:**

**Germainia99: Thank you so much :3 And thanks for being the first reviewer ^^**

**Zelga Lim Li: I'll have to go over it, I'd hate for the readers to be confused o.e and she's... something like that XD Yohoho~**

**Off we go 8D**

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><p>"Ugh." I groaned, eyelids fluttering open as I peered around me. I had woken up to the cold, wet nudging of Hotaru's nose on my cheek. I sat up, my head pounding as I peered around. The last thing I remembered was the white flash, and didn't I fall? Meh.<p>

The sound of even breathing drew my attention away from what looked like a small room with a single Japanese futon on the ground. I paled upon seeing what it was. An adorable little kid, probably about seven years old with messy blonde hair and four black marks that resembled the ones on my back upon his cheeks. His face was rather white and his head was against the wall.

Seeing a hint of red that I assumed was blood around his temple I gently picked him up – oh it was _so_ not natural for a growing boy to be this tiny, he should really eat more – and placed him on the futon.

_Well, Kaeda, you knocked out a harmless little kid after teleporting. Greaaaat._

Ignoring my sarcastic thoughts I sat next to the kid, gently brushing his hair back. It was lightly matted with blood, but there was no cut on his temple, which was weird, but at least he wasn't hurt.

_I wonder where his parents are…_ I wondered silently, standing up. Hotaru, who had been quietly curled up around the boy shot me a big-eyed look.

"Watch him, 'kay? I'm going to go check this place out." I told her, marking her reaction off as my imagination when I thought I saw her nod. Foxes didn't nod – yes, they were smart, but they didn't do human communication.

I walked out of the small bedroom and into a small hallway. There was an open door leading to a rather gross-looking bathroom which I ignored, going down the hall to another empty and messy kitchen. There was no living room, no other bedroom. It was as if he lived alone.

Who the hell lets a little kid live alone? I paused, my eyebrows crumbling as I fought the urge to tidy up just a little bit. It couldn't hurt… and then I could go check on the kid, see if he's okay. Yeah, that's what I'll do!

Confidence restored, I quickly found the garbage can and a few garbage bags, pulling them out and reaching for the first thing of trash – an empty instant-ramen cup, before freezing. It was written in Japanese. What. The. Hell. A feeling of dread growing in me, I grabbed a few other items – all in Japanese.

Well, hell. Apparently the Mysterious White Light as I so awesomely dubbed it, not only teleported me onto a small, defenseless child, knocking him unconscious, but it sent me to freaking Japan.

I don't watch the English subs! I only know enough Japanese to count to ten, insult someone, introduce myself, say yes and no, and a few animal names like cat, dog, and fox. I facepalmed, sighing and glancing out the sole window in the apartment. It was dark out, but with my overly heightened senses I could see almost as well as I could in daylight. The apartment was probably on the second or third story and from what I could see, I was not in Tokyo, or any city. Hell, this almost looked like a village. Like an old Japanese village you see in the karate movies.

Think about that later, I mentally ordered. Clean now than check on the kid. With that, I began to work. Apparently the blonde was obsessed with ramen, because I threw away over forty empty instant ramen cups, along with two cartons of milk, a few water bottles, some plates, napkins, and plastic utensils. After stashing the trash bags, I went on a scavenger hunt and found a couple washcloths, using one down to wipe off the counters, and wetting another down before bringing it down back to the kid.

I sat down cross-legged on the floor by him, gently moving his head so it rested in my lap as I wiped off the crusty blood, singing one of my current favorite songs, Safe and Sound while I did so, not noticing when he began to wake up.

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><p><em>"Don't you dare look out your window<em>

_Darling, everything's on fire_

_The war outside our door keeps raging on,"_

Naruto woke up to the sound of singing, noticing while it was very, very pretty that it wasn't Japanese. He couldn't understand the words. Struggling to remember what had happened – the Bunshin! He opened his eyes groggily, tensing as he felt something wet on his head. What were they doing?

"O, yoru awa ake kudo." A feminine voice said. Naruto sat up, confused, noticing his head was in someone's lap and quickly scooting against the wall, scared. It wasn't the first time he had awaken up to someone beating him or planning on beating him, though his eyes widened when he saw who's lap he had been using as a pillow.

It was a young girl, probably Iruka-sensei's age – he was twenty something, right? She had dark brown hair and tan skin, darker than his own, with emerald green eyes and really dark eyelashes. She was really pretty, prettier than Sakura-chan! She was wearing a red t-shirt and some dark blue pants but he couldn't tell what they were made of.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, his voice shaking slightly. The woman looked confused – didn't she understand him? He then remembered her odd speaking from earlier. Maybe she didn't speak Japanese.

The woman held up her hands in a gesture that meant I won't hurt you, which was odd. Everyone (besides Teuchi-san, Jiji, Ayame-nee, and Iruka-sensei) hated him, but she seemed so nice! The lady pointed to herself and said a word.

"Kai – duh." She said slowly, and Naruto blinked a few times before realizing it was her name.

"K-Kai-du?" He pronounced, stumbling over the word. She smiled softly and shook her head, Naruto entranced by the warmth she radiated.

"Kai-duh. Kaaaai-duuuuh." She said again. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, pronouncing the name again.

"K-kai-du-uh. Kai-duh?" He said tilting his head. The woman, Kaeda, smiled brightly and clapped her hands before pointing at him and tilting her head. He blinked at her a few times, confused, before getting that she wanted to know his name. He pronounced it slowly like she did.

"Na-ru-to." He said proudly. Kaeda pursed her lips and tapped her chin in an exaggerated thinking pose, making Naruto giggle, before saying his name.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed and the boy unintentionally jumped before he noticed Kaeda softly laughing at him. He smiled and rubbed his head sheepishly.

Kaeda than put her hands up in front of her once more, before scooting towards him slowly. Naruto tensed up again, not used to people getting close to him that didn't have some ill intent, but decided to trust her enough the let her near. Her fingers moved lightly through his blonde hair, rubbing the skin for a second before the wetness was on his head again. It seemed as if she was scrubbing something. When she pulled back, she was smiling once more, with a bloody washcloth in her hands.

Naruto's cerulean blue eyes widened, alarmed, before noticing Kaeda was miming something again. She pointed to the washcloth, than to his head, than mimed wiping something. His eyebrows crumpled, before he thought he got it.

"You wiped something out of my hair?" He asked, looking up at her with widened eyes. Her face blank for a moment – oh she couldn't understand him, right! But she just nodded, ruffling his hair and moving to grab something, not noticing that Naruto was froze in place.

The gesture was so simple, but so…loving. Like something an older sister or a mother would do. Something he had definitely never felt. It was… nice. He liked it.

"Naruto," He jumped, hearing her call and looked over to her and his eyes grew wide. She was holding a fox! "Hotaru." She said again, looking pointedly at the kitsune.

Was that the fox's name? "Hotaru." He said easily, having met a civilian with that name before. The little fox padded over to him, twitching its nose before licking him. He giggled, looking at the creature in wonderment. Since the Kyuubi died on his birthday seven years ago, almost all the foxes in Konoha had been killed or run out, so he'd never seen one.

Kaeda seemed to enjoy his reaction, when she laughed in that bell-like tone, looking at him more warmly than he'd ever seen someone do before. Her eyebrow suddenly crumbled in concentration when she said something, and he could understand to! Even if she pronounced it oddly.

"Mesu." She said, pointing at Hotaru-chan. Naruto nodded, understanding that his new fox-friend was a girl. They fell in a small, comftorable silence for a few minutes. Kaeda kept humming that pretty song while he scratched Hotaru-chan behind her dark-brown ears. Suddenly, Naruto's stomach growled. Kaeda looked at the blonde curiously as he felt his face heat up. He hadn't actually eaten since breakfast today, and who knew how long ago that was?

Naruto was mildly startled when Kaeda suddenly stood up, holding a hand out to him.

"Kome onu." She said lightly, looking at him expectantly. He paused, confused, before taking her hand. She suddenly pulled him to his feet, ruffling his hair once more before tugging him to the kitchen, which he didn't even notice was clean. He was too busy grinning at the warm feeling that had encompassed his heart.

Is this how it felt to have someone care?

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><p><strong>I like this chapter :3 A few things to clarify:<strong>

**Mesu - Japanese for female**

**Kome onu - What come on sounds from a japanese POV.**

**~Adra**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 ^w^**

**Replies to Reviews:**

**Zelga Lim Li: I try to update daily, though I can't always ^^; I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**XxBishxX: I'm glad you like this!**

**Also, in this chapter when it's from Naruto's 3rd person view, it shows english words in a Japanese pronunciation, for example Safe being Saifu ^^**

**Off we go!**

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><p>I never thought I'd ever see something that made me want to cry more than Marley and Me – that was a freaking sad movie. But then Naruto woke up.<p>

He was so sweet, so innocent, like a little angel with golden hair and wide blue eyes. I couldn't understand what he said, but he was so hesitant, so shy. When he woke up he looked so terrified – I'd never had someone look at me like that before. It was so pathetic, so pitiful, it made me want to wrap my arms around him and never let go.

Naruto seemed so amazed by ever small gesture I did without even noticing. He'd tense up when I ruffled his hair, something my dad did to me every morning when I still lived at home. When I grabbed his hand he looked almost nervous. What the hell could have happened to a kid to make him like that? If I find out it was a person I'm popping them in the nose.

I was currently sitting across from him at his little table, watching as his inhaled his ramen. I'd brought him in, sat him down and heated the ramen up like I owned the place. I wasn't even positive that Naruto noticed what I was doing – he had this big grin on his face and his eyes were unfocused.

And it seemed as if I was right about him liking ramen – it took barely two minutes for him to finish it. You should've seen me standing there, jaw dropped. I shook my head lightly, poking his nose playfully as I picked up the empty cup, throwing it away and putting the chopsticks in the sink – they were reusable right?

"C'mon Ducky." I said, randomly giving him a nickname. He looked at me with a blank expression. Oh, damn it, screw the language barrier! I held my hand out once more, happy to see him take it with barely a hesitation. I led him back into his bedroom, patting the futon and looking at him expectantly.

I hadn't seen a clock anywhere, but I assumed it was about two or so in the morning, much too late for a kid to be up on a school night. Wait... did he even go to school? I couldn't ask him, but I'd assume so. It was Wednesday, and as far as I knew the only day off in Japan was Sunday.

He turned his sapphire eyes up at me, looking confused so I put hands together and mimed sleeping. You could almost see the, OH! Expression on his face. I let out a soft giggle as I patted the futon again, adding one of the other few Japanese words in.

"Yuka," Meaning: bed. I couldn't actually remember where I learned that one. Hmm.

"H-Hai." Naruto said shyly and I narrowly resisted squealing and glomping him. He sat down on his knees, stretching once. While he did so I noticed what he was wearing for the first time.

He was wearing a bright orange shirt with a red swirl on the back, along with black shorts. The shorts weren't jeans or athletic shorts, so I didn't actually know what they were made of.

The blonde continued lying down, resting his head down on the uncomfortable mat. My eyebrows crumbled and I picked him up – yeesh, way to small – placing his upper body in my lap again. He looked up at me, startled, but relaxed when I smiled at him.

"Go to sleep." I whispered, knowing he wouldn't understand me, but maybe he would respond to the tone of my voice. He nodded and yawned.

"Oyasumi…kaa-san…" Naruto whispered, before shutting his eyes and relaxing. I paused – did he mean Kae-san? San was an honorific used for acquaintances, but I could've sworn Kaa-san meant something… meh. I ran my hands through his soft hair again, reminded once more of a little ducklings feathers, before I slowly drifted off.

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><p>Naruto woke up in a position he wasn't used to. Every morning he woke up stiff from the old futon, cold from the thin and ragged blanket he used, and tired from the restless sleep. Right now he felt nothing like that – he was comftorable, warm, sleepy, and strangest of all, something was <em>hugging <em>him.

Glancing up, the seven year old was shocked to see Kaeda half sitting against the wall, half holding him. Her mouth was open slightly and her head rested on Naruto's shoulder.

Suddenly, the memories of the past day invaded his mind, waking him up more. When he remembered last night before falling asleep once more he blushed in embarrassment. He had called her Mom! She must hate him now! But… but she had stayed, hadn't she?

Naruto wondered if it was possible to stay in this position forever. Sadly, he couldn't. He still had to go the academy so he could graduate and become Hokage! The academy…oh crap! He jerked, panicking as he realized he was probably late for the academy.

"Wazu go onu?" He heard a feminine voice mumble and looked up to meet Kaeda's emerald green eyes blinking sleepily at him.

"Ah, gomenasai Kaa-san!" He apologized, freezing when he realized he'd just gone and called her mother _again_. How stupid could he be? He looked up at her nervously, searching her eyes for any sign of hate or disgust. Of course, he wasn't met with that.

"Gudo- eh, Ohayo Ducky," she murmered, smiling at him before stretching and yawning. Naruto inwardly frowned at the loss of contact – he had liked the hug, but quickly shook his head. How was he going to explain that he had to go to the academy?

Naruto stood up, eyes squinting in thought, before he turned to Kaeda, who was looking at him curiously. He held up one finger to mean 'One moment,' before grabbing some clothes from his closet and going into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

The bathroom wasn't very good. There were mold stains on the ceiling, no hot water, and the mirror was cracked, but it was better than living at the orphanage. Well, anything was better than the orphanage, and having to see Tsukako-san, the matron, screaming at him and occasionally hitting him around the face.

He slid off his orange t-shirt, replacing it with a simple white one, sliding on his customary orange jacket over it, alone with orange pants over his shorts. He slid his goggles on his forehead and slipped on his customary dark blue sandals. Orange was Naruto's favorite color, which was a good thing since all of the shops horribly overpriced anything he wanted to buy. Orange was cheap, and even then it was triple the price for everyone else.

He threw his old clothes in a basket on the floor before hurriedly running back into to bedroom to see Kaeda sitting lying on her back with Hotaru-chan on her chest.

"K-Kaa-san?" Naruto said hesitantly, filled with a warm feeling when she responded to the title. "I have to go… to school…" He said, not knowing how to tell her, since all she heard was, "Watashi wa iku koto... Gakkō ni motte iru…"

She bit her lip, sitting up and scooping Hotaru-chan into her arms as she tried to figure out what the blonde had just said.

"Skuoru.. erm.. Gak…Gaki? No.. G…O! Gakko?" Naruto had glanced at her as she talked to herself, half amused, half confused. Gaki? Had she been calling him a brat? But then she said school and he nodded.

"Hai!" He chirped cheerfully. She nodded, standing up and setting the fox kit on the ground before picking Naruto up in both of her arms. The blonde yelped to find his feet no longer on the ground, but couldn't help laughing as he was set down on the chair in the kitchen. Kaeda stood there looking proud with her hands on her hips. She raised a single finger like he had earlier before searching through his cabinets.

He watched her sweatdrop as she pulled out ramen cup after ramen cup before shouting happily, pulling out a box of generic cereal and walking over to Naruto, raising a hand. He hesitated before high-fiving her, grinning as she smiled at him before she went to go grab a bowl.

Dancing was the only way to describe how she moved. It looked like the way he'd seen Kunoichi walk before, all graceful, but he hadn't thought she was a ninja. She didn't have any weapons on that he could see, nor a Hitai-ate. He should probably be more worried about a strange woman in his apartment and tell Jiji, but he wasn't stupid. She would be taken away, and she was the only person he'd ever met to be so affectionate to him – his Kaa-san he'd always dreamed of.

Kaeda returned shortly with a bowl, filling it with cereal and going over to the fridge, picking up a carton of milk and brining it over along with a spoon, pouring the milk over the cereal and handing Naruto the utensil, smiling smugly.

"Arigatou Kaa-san!" He exclaimed, not having remembered even having cereal in the apartment. "Itadakimasu!" He said before eating feverishly. It wasn't ramen, but it tasted pretty good, surprisingly enough. He finished it quickly and just like last night, Kaeda took his empty dishes and set them in the sink.

"Kaa-san?" He said a moment later in a smaller voice.

"Naruto?" She answered, turning to the small blonde. Naruto looked up at her, gesturing to himself and the door as he talked.

"I-I have to go. Will… will you stay?" He asked, finishing with a point at Kaeda and a sweep of the room with his hand. The dark-haired woman hesitated before nodding slightly. Naruto beamed up at the woman as she placed a hand on his hair again, though he didn't expect her to reach down and kiss his forehead.

"Be saifu." She said with a close-eyed smile.

"H-Hai!" Naruto said, stumbling over. "See you later Kaa-san!" He said, sending her one more look as he left the apartment, the last thing he saw was her glowing face before he shut the door and began running towards the Academy on the other side of the village, feeling more light-hearted than he had in a long time.

He could get used to this.

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><p><strong>Yay, academy scene next chapter! 8D I know someones going to probably question Naruto calling Kaeda Kaa-san andhow easily he's accepting her, but he is literally starved for affection. He wants a mother's attention, and Kaeda's natural mothering-personality is getting to him.<strong>

**Any questions on the japanese, PM me or leave in in a review ^^**

**~Adra**


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